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Fact Checker: Is the U.S. a land of Haves and Have-Nots?
Reno Gazette-Journal: What do you think is a fair amount of wealth inequality? Before getting to that, an explanation of "why this question now" is needed. People on the left and right have been noting the disparity in wealth with increasing alarm. The Occupy Wall Street movement has faced mass arrests, pepper spraying and increasing attention. It has spread to Boston, Chicago, LA, Japan -- and Las Vegas and Reno. One of its refrains pits the wealthy 1 percent of the nation against the 99 percent of the "rest of us," saying the Haves are dominating government and corporations to the detriment of the Have-Nots.
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Don’t Worry, Be Happy – Understanding Mindfulness Meditation
In times of stress, we’re often encouraged to pause for a moment and simply be in the ‘now.’ This kind of mindfulness, an essential part of Buddhist and Indian Yoga traditions, has entered the mainstream as people try to find ways to combat stress and improve their quality of life. And research suggests that mindfulness meditation can have benefits for health and performance, including improved immune function, reduced blood pressure, and enhanced cognitive function.
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Practice Doesn’t Always Make Perfect, Study Suggests
Yahoo: Practice is an essential part of gaining excellence in a specific skill, but to become truly great other qualities must come into play, such as IQ or working memory, according to researchers who studied how practice affects the success of chess players. For the study, published in the October issue of Current Directions in Psychological Science, the researchers also considered earlier research and noted that practicing harder or longer doesn't compensate for the lack of other important traits relevant to a certain activity. The study authors pointed out that there is a theory that people will do better in areas such as sports, music and chess if they practice more.
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Practice Doesn’t Always Make Perfect, Study Suggests
U.S. News & World Report: Practice is an essential part of gaining excellence in a specific skill, but to become truly great other qualities must come into play, such as IQ or working memory, according to researchers who studied how practice affects the success of chess players. For the study, published in the October issue of Current Directions in Psychological Science, the researchers also considered earlier research and noted that practicing harder or longer doesn't compensate for the lack of other important traits relevant to a certain activity.
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10 Examples of Everyday Evil
Discovery Channel: Consumer Wickedness We live in a consumerist culture that equates possessions with happiness. But where do they all come from? Bangladesh's garment workers, for one, who produce clothing for companies such as Gap and Levi-Strauss at a rate of 21 cents per hour [source: Richardson]. In March 2010, more than 20 workers in a Bangladeshi factory were killed in a fire due to poor safety standards [source: Hickman].
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Are liberals and conservatives just taking different routes to happiness?
Business Insider: Yes. Liberalism increases the chance people will feel good. Conservatism makes people less likely to feel bad: Research shows that political conservatives are happier than liberals [Napier, J. L., & Jost, J. T. (2008). Why are conservatives happier than liberals? Psychological Science, 19, 565–572]. Relevant theory and evidence suggest that political conservatism and liberalism might be differentially related to components of happiness [(Diener, E. (1984). Subjective well-being.Psychological Bulletin, 95, 542–575); life satisfaction, positive affect and negative affect].
